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Spoiler season has been steadily rolling out for Magic: The Gathering’s return to the magical school of Strixhaven, and the set’s looking pretty magical so far. The five schools have all prepared some powerhouse spells, and today, we get to add a few to the mix.

Wizards of the Coast sent over two cards for Game Informer to premiere; one that seems like a solid removal option for Silverquill and Lorehold players, and a flier sure to wreak havoc in a Quandrix or Prismari set-up. Check out Stand Up for Yourself and Encouraging Aviator.

 

Stand Up for Yourself is a solid 3-cost removal spell, able to take out one of your opponent’s heavier hitters. There’s not really anything fancy or intricate to do here, but you don’t always need that. Sometimes, you just want the ability to take something off the board, and Stand Up for Yourself will do it. Also, fantastic use of perspective and framing in the art from Nathaniel Himawan here.

On the Blue side, there’s Encouraging Aviator, a 2/3 Bird Wizard for Blue plus Two, with Flying. At the Uncommon slot, this could already be a handy offensive tool for the Blue player trying to get over the top of their rival’s defenses, but the Aviator brings a little extra help to the table in its prepared spell, Jump.

“Prepared” spells are a new mechanic for Secrets of Strixhaven, attaching well-known Magic spells to the creatures of Strixhaven. When prepared, the creature may cast their spell for the associated cost and at the designated speed, but it’ll have to become prepared again to keep doing it. You can read more about the mechanic’s nuances here, but for our purposes, this means Encouraging Aviator can use the classic Alpha spell Jump to bring a friend along on a flying attack.

It’s a potent card, then, that could become a middle-game nuisance for anyone playing against a deck with some solid Blue options, and notably dodges removal like Stand Up for Yourself. I’m a fan! And the owl-frog combo painted by Oriana Menendez for this card captures the magical wonder of Strixhaven very well. This return to the spells of Strixhaven seems like a fitting follow-up to the similarly whimsical Lorwyn Eclipsed from earlier this year.

For the rest of the currently revealed Secrets of Strixhaven cards, check out the gallery here. The set officially opens for class on April 24, with pre-release festivities occurring at a local game store near you the weekend prior.

There are a lot of promising Star Wars video games on the horizon, from Zero Company to Fate of the Old Republic, but it’s been years since we’ve gotten solid updates on some of them. Perhaps most notable among those is Star Wars Eclipse, an action-adventure game from the Detroit: Become Human and Heavy Rain developers at Quantic Dream. Despite being announced at the Game Awards just over four years ago, we’ve gotten minimal updates and have yet to see gameplay. Unfortunately, yesterday, Insider Gaming published a report (which we spotted via Eurogamer) that we’ll be waiting for a while longer.

First mentioned on the Insider Gaming Weekly podcast and later written as an article, the outlet claims to have heard development on Star Wars Eclipse is “very slow going,” with developers spending months working and making little progress. The source went on to say that, “At this stage, the long-term outlook is less driven by creative capabilities and more by financial viability. Should Spellcasters fail commercially, NetEase is expected to reevaluate its commitment to the studio and could opt to discontinue further investment.”

Since it was acquired by NetEase in 2022, Quantic Dream hasn’t released any games other than Spellcasters Chronicles, a recently revealed free-to-play multiplayer game that’s currently in Early Access. It was a surprising announcement from the typically single-player-focused studio, and currently has “Mixed” reviews on Steam. According to Insider Gaming’s source, Quantic Dream is hoping its multiplayer project can generate enough cash to further fund Star Wars Eclipse’s lengthy development cycle.

For more Quantic Dream, check out our preview of Spellcasters Chronicles from last year, then read our review of Detroit: Become Human.

Sea of Stars was one of our favorite games of 2023, and you can now bring the acclaimed RPG everywhere you go with its arrival to iOS and Android today.

Inspired by classic JRPGs like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, Sea of Stars comes from Sabotage Studios, developer of The Messenger. In fact, Sea of Stars is a distant prequel to The Messenger and stars two warriors, Valere and Zale, who wield the power of the Moon and Sun, respectively. The pair teams up with their childhood friend and battle chef, Garl, to take on an evil alchemist known as The Fleshmancer. 

You can purchase the game for $9.99 on iOS and Android, though a special launch sale temporarily knocks this price down by 10 percent ($8.99) until April 14. Check out the mobile trailer below. 

The mobile version of Sea of Stars does not appear to include its free post-game story DLC, Throes of the Watchmaker, so players will have to wait and see if that also makes the jump. 

Editor Kyle Hilliard scored Sea of Stars a 9 out of 10 in his review, writing, “Sea of Stars is a stellar throwback that appeals to fans like me who love 16-bit RPGs, but it also functions as an excellent entry point. Annoyances that hindered early games that inspired Sea of Stars are nowhere to be seen. Simple actions like moving around the world feel great, the story picks up quickly, and farming experience is effectively unnecessary. It all leads to a smooth, consistently thrilling adventure with fun combat, all in a gorgeous and inviting world.”

Sea of Stars is also available on PlayStation and Xbox platforms, Switch, and PC. If you’re jumping into the game for the first time via this mobile port, be sure to read our list of tips for starting the adventure. 

Yoshihisa Kishimoto, the creator of legendary beat ‘em up arcade series such as River City and Double Dragon, has passed away at 64 years old. The news was announced by his son and confirmed by outlets such as Famitsu.

Yoshihisa Kishimoto

Kishimoto’s son, Ryūbō, posted the news on X in response to a post celebrating the 40th anniversary of Kunio-kun, known better to the West as River City. His message (translated by X) reads,

“I am the son of Yoshihisa Kishimoto, director of the passionate, hardcore Kunio-kun series. I am writing to inform you that my father passed away on April 2, 2026. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you need to confirm details or anything else. Thank you so much for sharing so much information over the years for the Kunio-kun fans. We appreciate your continued support moving forward.”

Japanese outlet Famitsu and gaming historian Florent Gorges confirmed the news, as shared by Kotaku.

Yoshihisa Kishimoto began his video game career at Data East in the 1980s, working on titles such as Cobra Command and Road Blaster. He was later employed by Technos Japan Corp, where he created Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun, known outside of Japan as Renegade, a semi-autobiographical brawler partially based on the fights he frequently engaged in as a teenager. Renegade would spawn the Kunio-kun series that includes River City Ransom and subsequent River City games, Super Dodge Ball, and Crash ‘n’ the Boys: Street Challenge.

Kishimoto created Double Dragon, launched in 1987, which became a big hit and spawned numerous sequels (the latest of which is 2025’s Double Dragon Revive), spin-offs, a 1993 animated series, and a 1994 live-action film. Kishimoto served as director or producer on Double Dragon, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones, Super Double Dragon, and Double Dragon IV, which is the final game he directed.

“I’m sorry for not being able to reply, but thank you very much for the many heartfelt memory messages,” Kishimoto’s son wrote in a follow-up message translated on X. “I’m truly delighted to learn that there are people around the world who have played the Kunio-kun series extensively and understand my father even more deeply than I do. Please continue to enjoy my father’s works with a smile in the future.”

Game Informer extends its condolences to Yoshihisa Kishimoto’s family and loved ones.